Zool 484 Aquatic Entomology Insect Collections
Available for your use in CL 75:
- vials for identified specimens
- waterproof collection labels
- jars for sample collection
- 70% ethanol for sample preservation
Equipment you can borrow on a short-term basis (for the weekend):
- D-nets
- Pans for sorting samples
Labels. Each vial should contain a collection label (info on when/where/who collected the specimen) and a
determination label (name of the specimen and who identified it). These should be printed as neatly as
possible using waterproof ink (Pigma pen) or pencil. Labels should fit into the vial without being bent or
folded or touching the stopper. Col. label: state, county, town, specific water body, date, and name of
collector. Det. label: order, family, and genus/species.
______________________
OR: Benton Co., Corvallis
Oak Creek at 53rd St.
31 Mar 2003
Col: N. H. Anderson
______________________
___________________
Hemiptera
Belostomatidae
Lethocerus
Det: Mike Bogan
___________________
Collection list. Included with your collection should be a list of all specimens in your collection.
Field notebook. You will need to purchase a field notebook. Record details of the collection locality, flow
conditions, date and time, weather, types of habitat sampled. It should be complete and contain
information for every location that produced specimens for your collection.
Insect Collection Grading
484 students: at least 40 taxa, 10 of these identified to genus.
584 students: at least 50 taxa, 25 of these identified to genus.
All specimens must be in good condition, correctly labeled (both collection information and identification), and
preserved in clean 70% ethanol. Collection information should reflect that contained in your field notebooks,
which should be turned in with the final collection.
Separate credit will be given for different life stages, so long as different keys are required to identify them
(example – Coleoptera larvae and adults will be graded as if they were separate orders, but not so for Hemiptera
larvae and adults). The emphasis of the collection should be on life stages found in the water – a maximum of
20 % of specimens can be from the terrestrial stages. Grades are based on 1) the number of specimens, and 2)
the number correctly identified. Incorrect identifications, at any taxonomic level, will be penalized so err on the
side of caution! Any North American (north of Mexico) specimens are permissible, but they must have been
collected during the term. Every specimen in the vial will be checked for accuracy. If an incorrect specimen is
present in the vial along with correctly-determined specimens, no credit will be given. You can include up to 5
traded specimens (collected by someone else but determined by you).
Midterm collection grading. To keep people from building their collections last minute, we require that half of
your collection be turned in for grading at mid-semester.